Re: Intense Struggle Season 2! (Round 2: Infinity Express)
01-25-2011, 09:31 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by GreyGabe.
Marcus muttered something unpleasant under his breath.
“Fine. While our cryptic feathered friend does… whatever it is she’s doing, let’s get to the control car. And you,” he said, looking at Lillian, “Don’t even think about going after her. Last thing we need is for you to run into Charlie, or something.”
<font color="#C68E17">“But… but…”
“No buts. Burden? Keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t wander off.” The frog thing nodded slightly, but whether or not he’d actually listen was yet to be seen. “Let’s get going.”
He moved past them, making for the front of the train as it continued its lazy spin, marveling silently at how much better he felt. What was in that stuff? Nanites or something? Something good, anyway. He waited for the floor to be the floor so that he could get through the door easily. They walked forward for a few minutes, reaching the end of a car as it became the floor.
“There’s something I don’t get.”
“What’s that?”
“I was just wondering why down is still down.”
“…Is… this the setup to some kind of joke?”
“No. Why is gravity still effecting us? And since it is, why isn’t it pulling us towards the floor?”
“Uh… centrifugal force?”
“Train’s not spinning fast enough. And we wouldn’t be sliding around like this in that case.”
“I don’t know. Why does it matter, anyway?”
“I don’t—I guess it doesn’t. It’s just been bugging me.” Marcus continued along the ceiling to the next door. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything.”
Gradually, the ceiling became the floor, and they could advance once more.
“Marcus?”
Marcus glanced at Reudic, floating serenely as the car continued spinning around it.
“You can…? Nevermind. What is it?”
“I simply wished to inform you that I have received a communication from someone in a battle similar to our own. The individual in question called himself Vandrel Reinhardt, and he is searching for allies to help him overthrow the ‘grandmasters’ in charge of these battles, and to free the contestants. I sent back a response, expressing approval and support.”
Marcus absorbed this in silence. “Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that there are more of these things going on. Well, that’s some good news, I guess. It doesn’t help us much at the moment, though.”
“I believed you would wish to be privy to this information.”
“You’re right. But right now, I’m more concerned with saving our skins to worry about anyone else’s. But once we're done here, I would be happy to help Vandrel and whoever kick the asses of the ones responsible for all of this."
"How much farther is it, Lloyd?”
“Not much.”
Marcus caught Lillian by the scruff of the neck as she slid past him down the ceiling.
“Hey!”
“Jeez, let the kid have some fun. What’s the harm?”
“I’d just rather not find out the hard way that Charlie somehow managed to get in front of us, is all.”
“What? We would have seen him…” Lloyd glanced out the window.
“Yeah, I’m thinking the lack of air wouldn’t pose too much in the way of difficulty for something that doesn’t have to breathe. And I know the lack of gravity wouldn’t bother it.”
“I… hadn’t considered that.”
“Hmph.”
They continued on, carefully navigating the train. Lillian pouted quietly, her only entertainment taken away. Burden patted her gently on the head.
Eventually, they reached a door marked “Control Room.” It hung slightly ajar, falling farther open as the train tilted forward again.
“Maybe some of us should wait out here. We don’t want anyone having to walk across the controls.”
“Right. Reudic, Burden, and Lillian, you three stay out here, and keep watch. Lloyd, come on.”
“Who put you in charge?”
“I’m the one who’s going to be driving this thing, aren’t I?”
“Fine, whatever.”
Pushing open the door, Marcus found himself in a slightly cramped room. A bank of controls waited at the front, with two seats in front of it. The seats were empty. Over the controls was a broad window, which currently looked out upon lots of nothing. He wondered why they even bothered with the windows. It’s not like there was anything to see.
“Where’s the pilot, or engineer, or whatever?”
“Maybe he’s in the john?”
“Or maybe our kidnapper got rid of him.”
Lloyd shrugged, indicating that it probably didn’t matter either way. Marcus had to admit that this was true. He sat down in one of the chairs, and Lloyd did the same. They strapped themselves in, Marcus tucking his shotgun into the restraints where it wouldn't fall out (and where it was well out of Lloyd's reach) and examined the controls. Blinking lights, readouts, buttons and switches covered the control bank, each seeming to be vying for Marcus’s attention. Several alarms were beeping away, informing him that something was terribly, terribly wrong and it would be best to fix it. As if it was possible to miss the fact that they were tumbling ass over teakettle through an unending void.
“This… is complicated.”
“You can fly it though, right?”
“Possibly.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
Marcus ignored him. These controls were, indeed, very different than any layout he was familiar with, but there were a few things that were vaguely recognizable. He pressed a button experimentally. Some music began playing. He turned it off, and hit a switch that looked promising. A screen popped up, overlaid over the main window. At the top of the screen, the words “Security Feed” scrolled across sideways, over and over. It showed a gridwork of thumbnail-size images, each marked with names, such as “Ballroom Car” or “Sleeper Car.”
Marcus touched one of the images, causing it to expand to fill the screen. It showed Sarika running through one of the cars, carrying what looked to be a briefcase.
“What is she up to? It looks like she’s late for a business meeting or something.”
“Hard to say. Here.”
Marcus slid the screen over to Lloyd.
“Let me know if anything important happens.”
Marcus hit some more switches, bringing up even more windows. One seemed to be a web browser (Who puts that as their homepage… ugh!), another was a stop schedule. Finally, one showed up that was marked “Engine Status.” Marcus couldn’t make much sense of most of the readings, but nothing looked like it was bad, anyway. He hit some buttons situated near blinking lights, assuming they were probably related. One brought up an alert that one of the cars was losing oxygen. Oops. Another said that there were intruders on board. Finally, one brought up the notice that the train had been derailed, in case nobody had noticed. It told him to consult the train’s handbook, page 923, for instructions on how to activate off-track navigational thrusters and distress signals.
“I need the manual.”
“There’s a manual?”
“Apparently.”
Marcus and Lloyd searched around for a moment, until Lloyd produced, from a closed compartment, a small computer tablet, which had the word "HANDBOOK" printed across the back.
“A bit of light reading, I’d say. You want me to read it to you?”
Marcus ignored what he assumed was more pointless nettling. “No, just hand it here.” He powered up the 'book' and selected the proper language. He then brought up page 923.
The page indicated was covered in diagrams and instructions. Marcus scarcely knew where to begin.
“This may be a while.”</font>
“I guess I’ll just keep watching TV then. I wonder if there’s anything good on?”
Marcus muttered something unpleasant under his breath.
“Fine. While our cryptic feathered friend does… whatever it is she’s doing, let’s get to the control car. And you,” he said, looking at Lillian, “Don’t even think about going after her. Last thing we need is for you to run into Charlie, or something.”
<font color="#C68E17">“But… but…”
“No buts. Burden? Keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t wander off.” The frog thing nodded slightly, but whether or not he’d actually listen was yet to be seen. “Let’s get going.”
He moved past them, making for the front of the train as it continued its lazy spin, marveling silently at how much better he felt. What was in that stuff? Nanites or something? Something good, anyway. He waited for the floor to be the floor so that he could get through the door easily. They walked forward for a few minutes, reaching the end of a car as it became the floor.
“There’s something I don’t get.”
“What’s that?”
“I was just wondering why down is still down.”
“…Is… this the setup to some kind of joke?”
“No. Why is gravity still effecting us? And since it is, why isn’t it pulling us towards the floor?”
“Uh… centrifugal force?”
“Train’s not spinning fast enough. And we wouldn’t be sliding around like this in that case.”
“I don’t know. Why does it matter, anyway?”
“I don’t—I guess it doesn’t. It’s just been bugging me.” Marcus continued along the ceiling to the next door. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything.”
Gradually, the ceiling became the floor, and they could advance once more.
“Marcus?”
Marcus glanced at Reudic, floating serenely as the car continued spinning around it.
“You can…? Nevermind. What is it?”
“I simply wished to inform you that I have received a communication from someone in a battle similar to our own. The individual in question called himself Vandrel Reinhardt, and he is searching for allies to help him overthrow the ‘grandmasters’ in charge of these battles, and to free the contestants. I sent back a response, expressing approval and support.”
Marcus absorbed this in silence. “Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that there are more of these things going on. Well, that’s some good news, I guess. It doesn’t help us much at the moment, though.”
“I believed you would wish to be privy to this information.”
“You’re right. But right now, I’m more concerned with saving our skins to worry about anyone else’s. But once we're done here, I would be happy to help Vandrel and whoever kick the asses of the ones responsible for all of this."
"How much farther is it, Lloyd?”
“Not much.”
Marcus caught Lillian by the scruff of the neck as she slid past him down the ceiling.
“Hey!”
“Jeez, let the kid have some fun. What’s the harm?”
“I’d just rather not find out the hard way that Charlie somehow managed to get in front of us, is all.”
“What? We would have seen him…” Lloyd glanced out the window.
“Yeah, I’m thinking the lack of air wouldn’t pose too much in the way of difficulty for something that doesn’t have to breathe. And I know the lack of gravity wouldn’t bother it.”
“I… hadn’t considered that.”
“Hmph.”
They continued on, carefully navigating the train. Lillian pouted quietly, her only entertainment taken away. Burden patted her gently on the head.
Eventually, they reached a door marked “Control Room.” It hung slightly ajar, falling farther open as the train tilted forward again.
“Maybe some of us should wait out here. We don’t want anyone having to walk across the controls.”
“Right. Reudic, Burden, and Lillian, you three stay out here, and keep watch. Lloyd, come on.”
“Who put you in charge?”
“I’m the one who’s going to be driving this thing, aren’t I?”
“Fine, whatever.”
Pushing open the door, Marcus found himself in a slightly cramped room. A bank of controls waited at the front, with two seats in front of it. The seats were empty. Over the controls was a broad window, which currently looked out upon lots of nothing. He wondered why they even bothered with the windows. It’s not like there was anything to see.
“Where’s the pilot, or engineer, or whatever?”
“Maybe he’s in the john?”
“Or maybe our kidnapper got rid of him.”
Lloyd shrugged, indicating that it probably didn’t matter either way. Marcus had to admit that this was true. He sat down in one of the chairs, and Lloyd did the same. They strapped themselves in, Marcus tucking his shotgun into the restraints where it wouldn't fall out (and where it was well out of Lloyd's reach) and examined the controls. Blinking lights, readouts, buttons and switches covered the control bank, each seeming to be vying for Marcus’s attention. Several alarms were beeping away, informing him that something was terribly, terribly wrong and it would be best to fix it. As if it was possible to miss the fact that they were tumbling ass over teakettle through an unending void.
“This… is complicated.”
“You can fly it though, right?”
“Possibly.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
Marcus ignored him. These controls were, indeed, very different than any layout he was familiar with, but there were a few things that were vaguely recognizable. He pressed a button experimentally. Some music began playing. He turned it off, and hit a switch that looked promising. A screen popped up, overlaid over the main window. At the top of the screen, the words “Security Feed” scrolled across sideways, over and over. It showed a gridwork of thumbnail-size images, each marked with names, such as “Ballroom Car” or “Sleeper Car.”
Marcus touched one of the images, causing it to expand to fill the screen. It showed Sarika running through one of the cars, carrying what looked to be a briefcase.
“What is she up to? It looks like she’s late for a business meeting or something.”
“Hard to say. Here.”
Marcus slid the screen over to Lloyd.
“Let me know if anything important happens.”
Marcus hit some more switches, bringing up even more windows. One seemed to be a web browser (Who puts that as their homepage… ugh!), another was a stop schedule. Finally, one showed up that was marked “Engine Status.” Marcus couldn’t make much sense of most of the readings, but nothing looked like it was bad, anyway. He hit some buttons situated near blinking lights, assuming they were probably related. One brought up an alert that one of the cars was losing oxygen. Oops. Another said that there were intruders on board. Finally, one brought up the notice that the train had been derailed, in case nobody had noticed. It told him to consult the train’s handbook, page 923, for instructions on how to activate off-track navigational thrusters and distress signals.
“I need the manual.”
“There’s a manual?”
“Apparently.”
Marcus and Lloyd searched around for a moment, until Lloyd produced, from a closed compartment, a small computer tablet, which had the word "HANDBOOK" printed across the back.
“A bit of light reading, I’d say. You want me to read it to you?”
Marcus ignored what he assumed was more pointless nettling. “No, just hand it here.” He powered up the 'book' and selected the proper language. He then brought up page 923.
The page indicated was covered in diagrams and instructions. Marcus scarcely knew where to begin.
“This may be a while.”</font>
“I guess I’ll just keep watching TV then. I wonder if there’s anything good on?”